Auditor's FY16/17 report presented

Friday

MIAMI – The City of Miami's 2016/2017 Fiscal Year Audit report was presented to the Miami City Council by Andy Cromer with Arledge & Associates, an Edmund auditing firm.

“I want to show my appreciation to the firm and our Finance Staff for ensuring we are being good stewards of public funds,” Miami City Manager Dean Kruithof said later.

Highlights of the report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2017, saw the City's total net position decreased by $9,578,183 or 25 percent from the prior year. This number is an indicator, or one way of measuring the City's financial health, according to Cromer.

For the City of Miami, assets and deferred outflows exceeded liabilities and deferred inflows by $28,698,474 at the close of the most recent fiscal year.

This same fiscal year business-type activities, such as utilities, program revenues exceeded expenses by $4 million.

“That seems to be doing very well and the rates seem to be generating sufficient capital,” Cromer said.

For budgetary reporting purposes, the General Fund reported revenues above estimates of $96,579 or 1.3 percent, while expenditures were under the final appropriations by $895,618 or 9 percent. The City issued $19,375,000 of the 2016 Sales Tax Refunding Revenue Bonds which were used to refinance the 2010 Sales Tax Revenue Bonds for street improvements and the 2013 Bond Anticipation Note for sports complex improvements.

During this fiscal year, the City expended $22.4 million for governmental activities and were funded by program revenues of $1.5 million, and $11.4 million in taxes and other general revenues.

Significant changes occurred with an increase of $1.3 million, or 89 percent, due to changes in pension elements, increases of $12.3 or 74 percent due to issuance of debt to refinance other outstanding debt and pay off debt of a discretely presented component unit, or legally separate organizations for which the City of Miami is financially accountable.

The General Fund includes about two months worth of fund balance compared to revenues, without inclusion of the Rainy Day Fund.

“I think the general idea is to have three to six months and is a great place to be so, you're very close to that, so I don’t think that's a concern and especially with your Rainy Day Fund,” Cromer said.

Comer explained that required supplemental information was required of the City of Miami to implement new accounting changes issued by standards set for accounting for police and fire pensions to stay on insurance by paying a subsidized rate.

In other business, a new ordinance was enacted at the last City Council meeting to require a majority vote of the entire Miami City Council to remove any funding from the City's Rainy Day Fund. This amendment to the ordinance eliminated any uncertainty that monies could be moved with a simple majority of council members present at any given meeting

A work order, not to exceed $14,000, was approved for Olsson Engineering to design an appropriate stormwater culvert crossing and bridge to be located between Joe Pollock and the future Splashpad site.

The plan would also create a design for an access bridge over the storm drainage using a box culvert and accessing the park from the Public Works building for maintenance and safety using the best and most cost-effective option.

The work order is also to design a storm drainage ditch to the south of the Splashpad site and bridge for public access to parking lots at Joe Pollock Field.